Once Upon a Time
by Ryogan
Summary: Buffy left the world of vampires and demons behind five years ago. But now, a spell casted in a burning factory will remind her that you can't run from your past and that, sometimes, everyone needs a little help remembering who they are supposed to be.


The place was burning down and they were all still inside it, all in a days work for white hat… he really should have stuck to the dark side.

Spike jumped through the hole in the catwalk he was currently using as a make up bridge, the flames in the factory (and bloody hell, not originality what so ever in the evil wizards this days) had forced him to seek an alternative method to reach the platform were the ritual was being performed, the platform towered a good 16 feet's above the ground floor and the flames made it impossible for someone as flammable as Spike to go through the bridge designed to that very purpose. Going above had seemed like a good option at the time but now… well let's just say that it wasn't quite as he imagined and leave it at that.

The other side of the catwalk gave a loud squeak when Spike's weight fell on it and for a painful second the vampire feared it would give out under his weight and send him into the flames. The moment passed however and the make up bridge held up to the relief and surprise of the vampire that with a last look to the ground below (It wasn't a pretty sight, trust him) resumed his desperate run. If they didn't finish this quickly the whole place could collapse on top of them and that, quoting his best friend, would just suck; and speaking of best friends...

-Hey Bit! How're thing down there?-

The girl in question was running in the ground level of the factory, right under the bridge and slightly to the right from Spike position, dragging along a red-headed woman by the hand that had her eyes closed and brown furrowed in concentration. They were both encapsulated in bright bubble of magic and from his position above the vampire could only identify the faint shimmer of the magical protection in between the metal plaques that obstructed his vision, the magical shield reflected the worse of the flames away from the girls and kept the toxic smoke out, allowing them to survive in the middle of the raging inferno.

-Not so bad, but the flames are starting to get to us, Willow is running out of juice and - A loud explosion cut out the Key and a loud curse was heard in the catwalk parallel to Spike's - In any case I think we are better off than Peaches - A victorious smirk crossed Spike face at the mocking tone in her voice, his Nibblet had never quite warmed up to his Grand Sire and it was always nice to know that someone liked him better than they did the souled Vampire.

The path ahead of him seemed clear and Spike risked a glance across the building to the beam Angel was currently using as a bridge. It was on the opposite side of the factory, to the right side of Spike and the girls, and all the smoke made it hard to see anything, Spike had to change into game face in order to make out a moving shadow in the distance. Hopefully that was him. The figure was moving slowly and a string of curses could be heard coming steadily from its direction.

-Oi Peaches! Still among the unliving?- shouted Spike in the most mocking tone he could manage.

-Shut the hell up and hurry boy! - Another explosion was heard and the curses began to come in Irish - There are some damn barrels full of some sort of explosive shit below me and they keep blowing up! - Another explosion shocked the factory in that moment, almost like the fates wanted to prove his point, and knowing Peaches that probably was the case, he always had been the favorite of the Powers after all.

-Spike! Look, there they are! - The shout below him brought the vampire back from his musings and to the matters at hand. From here he could make out the two figures standing on the platform, Kalsar was pacing in front of a dark figure covered almost completely in a brown tunic, that had to be Reigan; the wizard was kneeling in the middle of a pentagon of candles and runes painted in blood, apparently oblivious to the surrounding inferno in the factory. Kalsar looked a tad more concerned. All in all it seemed the ritual was not too far away from being over.

- Bit, I'm going ahead to try and finish this, make sure Red gets there in one piece and fast, something tells me this is gonna need a little more than brute force to work - without waiting for an answer (knowing Dawn it probably would have been sarcastic) Spike jumped towards the next piece of catwalk that trembled beneath his feet and with supernatural speed propelled himself from there towards the place the ritual was taking place. A quick backward glance told Spike the catwalk had finally given out and plundered into the flames. He couldn't help but laugh, he loved cheating dead.

Kalsar notice him the moment his feet touched the platform, turning his head in Spike's direction and drawing himself to his full height to try and look more menacing. He had a good 11 inches over Spike if you counted the pair of black horns that raised skywards from the top of his head and was generally skinny. He wore a black armor that was too big for him and had a two handed axe in his hands that he could barely lift, let alone swing. If you combined that with his grayish skin and sickly complexion he painted a pathetic picture for a Big Bad. Reigan was completely different story, even from were he stood Spike could feel the power coming out in waves from the kneeling wizard that continued his low chanting completely unperturbed by his arrival; from here he could make out the patterns in his robe and the salts scattered in the ground over the pentagram. A brilliant emerald dangling from a cord that was held between his fingers caught Spike's attention, it was a beautiful piece of jewelry and it seemed the principal piece of the ritual. A shiver rand down Spike's back, magic always had a way of screwing him over and something told him this would not be different.

Even if Reigan's aura was noting against Willow's, it was enough to put the vampire on his toes and remind him of the consequences failure could bring. Without waiting another second Spike launched himself forward to trash the ritual site only to ran head first into an invisible wall and falling down backwards, strange symbols appeared in the place his head made contact with the barrier only to fade from view in a second; leaving behind no trace of it's existence.

- Too late again Spikey - Kalsar voice came loud an clear despite the magical wall and Spike snarled loudly before standing up with a quick jump, the Big bad flinched slightly at the sound but continued with a smirk- The ritual is almost finished and soon you will burn along side with this place-

-You're too bloody cocky for a guy outnumbered two to one Kalsar! - The demon only laughed and with an angry kick at the wall Spike turned around to check on his companions. They had finally managed to catch up with him and were climbing to the top of the platform; realizing the last few steps were missing from the stair Spike reached down his extended hand towards them to help them up. The bubble that protected them died in a flash of light an allowed them to accept Spike's stretched limb. Both Dawn and Willow's clothes were slightly singed from the flames but its occupants seemed otherwise okay, with only a couple of scratches to show from their run. They both looked tired as hell even if they sported a defiant glint on their eyes.

-Not use Spikey, this barrier can only be destroy by another ritual, and by the time you get it done the building will have collapsed- Kalsar malicious laugh came from behind them and only Dawn's hand in his chest kept Spike from launching himself at the bastard - Not to mention the flames; we are fire proof inside this thing, what about you leech? - The last remark was accompanied by a triumphant smile.

-We'll see just how fire-proof you are once I'm finished with you- the voice came from the other side of the platform and Spike looked towards the newcomer. It seemed his grand sire had finally arrived and not in the best of shapes either, pieces of his clothes were missing and the rest of him was scratched and blackened, all in all he looked like hell - A few of those damn barrels up your ass and you'll start to feel the heat I assure you- Despite the situation Spike couldn't help but laugh at the image of the battered vampire in front of him.

-You're not going all Angelus on us, right Peaches?- Beside him, Dawn rolled her eyes and used her hand to hide an amused smile, Willow on the other hand just shocked her head in silent resignation and ran pass them towards the barrier, making a few hand movements along the way. –'Cause I wouldn't mind kicking your ass after this is all over-

-If you don't you shut up right now boy you are going to get a couple of barrels down that damn mouth of yours- From the slight tick in his right eye and the murderous look of his face Spike had no doubt Angel was deadly serious on his thread... of course that had never stopped him from mocking him in the past so why start now? Spike had his mouth open and was about to shot back a reply when Dawn beat him to the punch.

-Come on Peaches- at the sound of the hated nickname Angel's eye began to twitch faster, it was bad enough when only Spike used it but now his little clone had decided to pick it up -You really leaved enough barrels for all of us? 'Cause from the looks of it you already caught them all - Dawn wore a smirk not unlike the one Spike was sporting. With both of them wearing black Dusters and doc martens they looked more alike than ever, and Angel though ruefully, they were both equally annoying. Before the fight could continue Willow's voice cut out from her position kneeling beside the barrier.

-Uh guys... I hate to be the party pooper but I have a couple of bad news you really need to hear- she stopped for a moment before continuing uncertainly -And a good one I think- Immediately the three forgot their fight and focused their attention on the matter at hand.

-What is it Red?- Spike came to kneel beside her and shot a questioning look at the site of the ritual where Kalsar was still pacing around and gesturing aggressively albeit in complete silence - An what happened to the bastard? -

-That's just an quick silence spell, it's not going to last but at least we don't have to hear him brag about his victory, the bad news are that he really has a lot of reasons to be bragging about- at this she turned and casted a desperate look at them - By the very nature of the spell I don't think I can force it to stop by my will alone and he is right, the ritual would take too long to be of any use-

-Okay Red, time to hear the good news- Spike eyes were fixed on the chanting wizard inside the barrier and the dangling emerald in his hands, this was far more serious that he had thought it would be, but maybe he should have known; he had only met another Big Bad as ridiculous as Kalsar and that one had cost all of them so much... he though that bastards like those ones only came in trios -We really could use…-

Then they ran out of time. A blinding light exploded from within the barrier; the spell began and they could do nothing to stop it.

Dawn was looking at Willow when the light hit her and was instantly blinded; in the sea of whiteness she saw a familiar silhouette, shielding her from the light. That's when she heard _her _voice "_Then the last thing she'll see is me, protecting her" _She almost felt like a fifteen year old again, drawing confidence in the fact that _she _was there to protect her. _The hardest thing in this world is to live in it._ The shadows moved and now they painted a picture of a house she hadn't seen in years. For a moment she was once again a scared girl hiding in the shadow of others. Then the moment was over and she was back in her own body, the whole place was covered in darkness and she was left with a feeling of pride and sadness.

Angel's eyes were trained on Spike's back when it happened, he managed to catch a glimpse of the happenings inside the barrier, nothing more than a flash of gold before the light became too much to handle and he was blinded by it. In the middle of the overwhelming light he saw _her_. She was only a shadow, too wrapped in darkness for him to be able to make out the details but still irrefutably _her_. _She_ was standing in front of him, looking at him with the same eyes that had stolen his soul once. _What I want from you I can never have. _For a moment he was once again the mysterious stranger that worshiped a girl from afar. Then the darkness that had been gathering at the edges of his awareness rushed towards him and a mix of longing, relief and guilt flooded his soul.

Willow had her eyes closed, trying to remember all the information her comrades needed to know when she saw the light through her eyelids and panicked. For her it was a magical impulse, sure sign that the ritual had been completed and the rational part of her knew everything she saw in it was just an illusion created by the spell, even so she couldn't help the feelings that came to her when _she _appeared, the image was blurry and yet it took her less than second to find _her_. _She_ was never one to go unnoticed. _You're the strongest person here. You know that, right? _They were in the old high school, and the little mouse of a red headed, apprentice of witch and part time hacker, was clinging apprehensively to the arm of _her_ bright figure. For a moment she was that insecure girl once more, doubting her own worth at every step, untouched by dark magic and other sins. Then the darkness came and she was left only with nostalgia.

Of the three, Spike was the only one to see everything. He had kept his eyes trained on the emerald and had managed to see the face of a girl before the flash blinded him, a girl painfully familiar; without time to close them, his eyes had received the full power of the spell. He saw, as clear as he had seen Kalsar a few moments before, a girl dancing in the middle of a crowded club, poetry in motion. She had a smile on her lips and was talking to her friends that stood close to her, always close. _I'm not ready for you to not be here. _He saw a girl fighting in a cemetery, al power and deadly grace, feared by all the creatures of the night. Spike saw a memory come to live before his eyes, the memory of someone long gone. For a moment he was once again a love sick fool, a simple mortal in love with the brightest star on sky. By the time the darkness came Spike was laughing out loud. Some things never changed. And, some fools, never fell out of love.

_And so it__ began, with a boy in love with a star..._

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Hey there! This is my first story and I don't have a Beta so if any of you has the time and wants to help me out just send the Beta-ed (I'm sure that's not a word but what the hell, Hopefully you got what I meant) version of this chapter to gangrel-fic hotmail (I'm not sure if the email will be visible once I post this so just check out my profile if you're interesed xD) so I can edit this chapter later on. The second chapter is almost complete but I won't post it until I find a Beta (or more than one if several people offer, though I doubt it xD) the thing is, even though English is my first language I haven't spoke it for few years so I'm kind of rusty and I could really use hand. I think that's all, so let me now if you like it.


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